


The Clean Edge of Change

by slash4femme



Category: NCIS
Genre: Babies, Gen, Reference to death, Tony character study
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-08
Updated: 2015-05-08
Packaged: 2018-03-29 14:20:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3899509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slash4femme/pseuds/slash4femme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony thinks it might be time to start a family causing his life to change and reconfigure itself maybe faster then he can handle.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Clean Edge of Change

**Author's Note:**

> Written in 2009. I do not change/edit my older works, only upload them here.
> 
> This was my first ever co-authored story. the multi talented Silversword2010 wrote Tony's dialog.

1.

Tony attempted to chase two screaming children around the bullpen while Gibbs interrogated their mother. Tony sighed. Both Ziva and Tim had taken one look at the two little ones and headed back to the crime scene.

“Come on.” Tony pulled a pen away from the little two-year-old girl and picked her up. “Come on princess, come and sit with me over here.”

He managed to get her bother by his little hand and directed him back to Tony’sown desk. Then dug through McGee’s desk until he found one of McGee’s comic books and gave it to the little boy. Tony watched the boy read at his desk while he walked the boys sister back and forth across the bullpen reciting what ever movie lines he thought might be appropriate for such a small child.

“Has anyone ever told you, you look good with a baby in your arms?” He looked up sharply to see Abby leaning against Tim’s desk.

“Hey Abby.” He moved the baby so she could lean against his shoulder as she slowly drifted off the sleep.

“Hey yourself Anthony.” Abby grinned at him. “I came up to rescue you, but it looks like you don’t need much rescuing.”

“Yeah.”Tony moved the little girls foot from where she’d had it at an awkward angle so it didn’t cramp while she slept. “Just don’t tell anyone ok?”

“Doesn’t go with your image?” Abby raised her eyebrows at him. “You do know women love a man who are good with kids right?”

“Yeah well. It’s not like I’ve gotten a lot of opportunity lately.” Tony’s eyes snapped up “and please don’t tell anyone I said that either.”

Abby sat down at Tim’s desk and swiveled the chair around in a lazy circle “Don’t worry Tony your reputation’s safe with me.”

“It’s just.” Tony glanced over at the small boy who was drifting off as well and then moved the little girl to Tony’s other shoulder. “Since Jeanne the whole dating thing hasn’t been the same, you know?”

Abby made a sympathetic noise.

“It just hasn’t felt right with anyone else.”

Gibbs stormed back into the bullpen and Abby jumped up, both children also jerking awake.

“What’s up boss?” Tony asked trying to sooth the baby in his arms. Gibbs didn’t answer only took the little girl away from Tony and held out his hand to her bother.

“Come on.” Gibbs spoke quietly and gently to the little boy. “Let’s go find your mom.”

Tony watched Gibbs walk away with both children and Abby patted his shoulder. When he looked at her, Abby smiled at him “Why don’t you and I do dinner tonight?”

Tony nodded “Sure.”

 

2.

“Ok” Abby slide into the chair across the table from Tony. “What’s up? Obviously there is more going on here then you missing Jeanne.”

Tony sighed and stared intently at the glass of wine he had been drinking; half grateful and half annoyed that Abby could tell something was up. “I’ve been thinking about children, I mean I’ve always wanted some but I don’t know . . .”

“What!” Abby stared at him. “You Tony? You want kids? Is this like sometime in the distant future kind of deal? Or should I worry about waking up tomorrow and discovering you have little DiNozzos?”

Tony laughed at that but soon looked serous again. “No I don’t think I’m going to have kids anytime soon, Jeanne was the only one I really wanted to have kids with. But still I sometimes I wish.”

“Oh.” Abby looked down at the table and toyed with her fork. “You really do want kids though? I mean I saw how you were with those two today.”

“Yes I do, it’s weird but I do want kids.”

Abby reached across the table and covered Tony’s hand with her own. “You know you could always adopt.”

“Yeah I been giving adoption a lot of thought, but with my job I don’t if I have the time.”

“Nonsense.” Abby nodded firmly. “Tony if you really think your ready to be a parent, and you’ve thought this through. Talk to an adoption agency. I mean you work for the government, you used to be a cop, so you’ve been background checked a lot and don’t have a criminal record. You’re a good person, with a nice apartment, and money. Sure.” She shook her head slightly. “Being a single parent is tough, I mean, really, really tough. But I think you could handle it. I really do.” She patted the back of Tony’s hand. “I saw the way you were with those kids, and I know any kid you get is going to be well cared for and well loved, because I know you.”

 

3.

It took him a while to find an adoption agency that would take him but it wasn’t as hard as he had originally thought.

It took him weeks after the first inquiries to get into the office but the lady he met with was kind, and helpful. She explained the process to him, explained that it would be harder for him over all. That mothers usually chose couples or women but it wasn’t impossible. It would be harder for him to get small children and they probably wouldn’t give him a girl.

The whole thing was terrifying. He left the packet he’d gotten on his coffee table for a week and a half, but thought about it pretty much constantly.Finally he filled out the paperwork and turned it back in.

Tony knocked on Abby’s door. “Hey, she looked up and waved at him. Come on in Tony.”

“I need your help.” Tony told her leaning against her desk.

“Yeah?” Abby looked up at him. “How can I help you DiNozzo?”

Tony took a breath. “The adoption agency needs to know I have friends and family that can support me and any child I might adopt.”

“Adoption agency!” Abby jumped up and hugged him. “Oh Tony, I’m so proud of you and happy for you. That was such a brave thing to do.” She pulled back and then hugged him again. “You’re going to make such a great dad.”

“Yeah well the fact is a mom probably won’t choose me.” Tony told her. “I just need to know that the agency can call you and talk to you about this.”

“Of course.” Abby told him “but you’re going to need other people too.”

Her face lit up. “I know. Come to lunch with me.”

“How it this supposed to help, Abby?” Tony asked, and she smiled “you’ll see.”

When Tony arrive at lunch Abby and Ducky were already at the table.

“Abby tells me you have something to ask.” Ducky looked up at him as Tony sat down.

“Yeah.” Tony cleared his throat and started again. “Yeah Ducky, it’s kind of like a favor really.” He looked over at Abby.“You see I’ve been thinking about adopting children for a while and a few days ago I went to the adoption agency and it turns out that I need people to vouch for me and Abby said she would be one and I was hoping you would agree to be another.” Tony blurted it all out rather quickly not making eye contact with Ducky.

Ducky blinked and then smiled reaching across the table and squeezed Tony’s wrist briefly. “Why of course Anthony, I would be delighted.”

Tony sighed and ran one hand across his face. So this was it. The only thing left to do was wait.

 

4.

Her name was Piya. She was originally from North Bangle. She was also grieving for a Marine husband who had been killed in Iraq. Shortly after loosing her husband she’d found out she was dying, an untreatable genetic disease. She’d found him through the adoption agency.

He’d gone to see her everyday at the hospital outside of D.C. Usually he brought her flowers. Tony hated hospitals, but he told himself sternly now was the time to be a man, now he had to act like grown up. Often he would be there at the same time as her children, three-year-old twin boys, both with their mother’s dark eyes and hair. They would sit on the bed and she would pet their hair, sing to them in her native language, and Tony would sit next to her and hold her hand.

When they had first met she had begged him to take them, like Tony actually needed convincing.“They have no father, soon they will have no mother. Peter’s parents are dead. My family is in Bangle. Please, Tony please look after them.”

Tony hadn’t known what to tell her. He’d never expected to have children thrust at him like this.

“No.” He shook his head firmly “I’m not going to do that Piya because you’re going to be here to take care of them. Trust me, you’re going to get through this.”

He took her hand but she shook her head too. “No Tony, I’m not. I’ve talked to the doctors, lots of doctors, they all tell me the same thing. If they’d caught it earlier I would have had a chance, but not now.”

They both looked at the window on the other side of her room, at the wide expanse of green lawn. “They are in foster care now. But my children are not going to be raised by the state. I need you to do this Tony, I need you to try.”

“Ok.” He sighed then forced a smile for her sake. “Ok.”

 

5.

Then there were lawyers, papers signed, Tony felt like crying but Piya stayed strong and dry-eyed through the whole process. Tony bought cribs, high chairs, play pens, toys, books, car seats, and a double stroller. He called daycare centers thought D.C. until he found one he liked, close to the office, that worked with children from FBI and military families. He child safety-proofed his entire apartment, built locking cabinets for his DVDs, bought the boys clothes. He bought books and DVDs on parenting tips for single parents. He took pictures of the twin’s room and showed them to Piya. Her lips quivered when she saw the pictures, but she didn’t cry.

“I knew I made the right decision.” She told him quietly.

The social worker who came with the twins was kind and cheerful. She complimented him on how well he’d managed to make his apartment safe for toddlers. That first night the twins lived with him, he stayed up all night. Samar the older twin cried throughout the enter night. So Tony spent the night holding him, rocking him, singing to him, and trying not to cry himself. Ravi, Samar’s brother, did not cry, but didn’t sleep either merely watched Tony rock his bother, from his crib.

Finally Samar and Ravi fell asleep and Tony collapsed in a chair. Tomorrow he would have to go see Vance and explain why he was going to have to take more time off. Tomorrow he would have to go and see if the boys liked the daycare he’d picked out. Tomorrow he’d go back to the hospital. He’d also have to figure out what and how to tell Gibbs. For what was left of tonight though, Tony was just going to have to convince himself that this was real. He looked across at the boys, his sons, sleeping and closed his eyes. _This is real_ , he thought, _this has really happened_.For a long moment he pressed his eyes shut tight then opened them and watched the children sleep. Tomorrow he’d start to worry again.

_________  
Articles on adoption by single men can be found [here](http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/AmericanFamily/story?id=127059&page=1) and [here](http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-06-14-foster_n.htm)  



End file.
